Spikes tend to kill ya! [OU RMT]

Heya, Smogon! I'm here to present a fairly new team of mine, Spikes tend ta kill ya! You've probably guessed from the name that this team is spikes offence. And you're right, this is a spikes offense team. It focuses on a late game sweep by either Sheer force Lando or SD Breloom. The reason I use those two is because: 1) they force a SHIT TON of switches, thus utilizing spikes to its fullest, 2) Between the two, they can kill off each other's counters fairly easily, 3) They hit like a freaking truck. Breloom and Landorus have a base 130 attack and a base 115 special attack respectively, together with Technician and Sheer force their attacks are nothing to laugh at. This team is extremely fun to use and got me quite high onto the ladder peaking at 1800s (my standards).

Team Building Process

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I started this team with these two monsters, focusing on using one to soften the opposition early-mid game and finish late game with the other. Breloom and Landorus accomplishes that on a regular basis :D.

Centering my team around Breloom and Landorus, Spikes is compulsory. With Stealth Rocks + one layer of Spikes, Breloom and Landorus can get a hell lot more of KOs, such as Blissey is 2HKOed by Focus Blast at 75% (of course, if Focus Blast somehow manages to hit both times), Genesect and JirachiOHKOed by Mach Punch after SR and Spikes, et cetera. So I added Forretress and Gengar for Spikes and Spin+Blocking respectively. I also get the added advantage of having Rapid Spin.

I realized that Thundurus-T, Tornadus-T can just plow through my team without any resistance. So I added Specially Defensive Bronzong to deal with said Genies. In the OU metagame, where weather is VERY dominant, it is almost mandatory to have your own so you can play with a home field advantage. I've had good experiences using Sun before so I decided to slap a Specs Ninetales onto team, Flamethrower + Specs + Sun hurts like a B*tch. And this is the first version of my team... and it is absolutely horrible. Going 2-8 in the first 10 games I've played on the ladder.

While Landorus and Breloom were doing some serious damage, I lose all momentum when I switch because Bronzong and Forretress have NO offensive presence at all. So I swapped Forretress for Deoxys-D and Bronzong for Jirachi. Ninetales was just plain horrible, so I decided to add a revenge killer by putting a Scarf Politoed in its stead. This team did much better, reaching 1600s on the ladder. Scarf Politoed can clean things up after Breloom or/and Landorus did their damage, also using Perish Song to stop baton pass chains, to force switches.

But Gengar wasn't doing his job, he wasn't sturdy enough to handle a Gyro Ball from Forretress, Ice Shard/Insurance from Donphan, Scald from Tentacruel and Surf/Hydro Pump from Starmie. So I put in Jellicent to spin block instead. And it worked great, being bulky enough to handle Forretress, Donphan, Tentacruel and hitting somewhat hard with Rain boosted Scalds. But I was having trouble against SubPunch Breloom and SubProtect Gliscors with Toxic.

Here's the solution. Cofagrigus. You're probably thinking "What the hell is wrong with this guy? Cofagrigus over Jellicent? Pfft n00b!" But it works. It's bulky enough to switch in on Donphan, Forretress, and Tentacruel. What's amazing is its ability, Mummy. When Breloom hits this thing with Seed Bomb, it loses its Toxic Heal ability so its own Toxic Orb will kill itself, forcing a switch, same with Gliscor's Earthquake. It's also useful against anything with Guts, Breloom and Scizor with Technician, Dragonite loses its Multiscale, Dugtrio can no longer trap and Gyarados and Salamence loses their precious Moxie to this coffin. Cofagrigus, with its bulk and the move Haze, it can also stop Baton Pass chains and wall set up sweepers. And this is the current version of the team and it's very fun to use and got me to 1800s :D.

Meet Deoxys-D, THE reason why this team is so successful. Deoxys-D is usually what I lead because it can usually set up SR and at least one layer of Spikes against my opponent's team. The concept is fairly simple, if the Pokemen I'm up against is offensive, I use Stealth Rock as they attack me usually doing less than 50%, Red Card forces them out and another Poke comes in (since not a lot of pokes can 2HKO Deoxys-D) I get another layer of spikes. Against defensive Pokemon such as Forretress, Ferrothorn, Skarmory, Bronzong, et cetera Magic Coat is the way to go, it reflects back hazards, Whirlwinds, Taunts, Statuses. Then continue using Magic Coat until they decide to switch or attack, if they switch use spikes, and if they attack they get forced out by Red Card and I get Spikes up either way. Night Shade is just there for frail set up sweepers, so I can weaken them enough for Politoed, Breloom to revenge kill. Speaking of set up sweepers, I usually use SR turn one, then switch to Cofagrigus for Will-o-wisp or Haze. The EVs are to maximize both defenses and I use Calm instead of Impish, Relaxed, Bold because I like said personality over the other three. :P

He's named Landmines because he's solely responsibly for setting up spikes which is in a way the same as Landmines.

Ah Politoed, my little blue toad that brings rain to the battle field. Not only does this little toad help me against Sand, Hail and Sand teams, it's great for cleaning up late game when my opponent's team is in shambles from Mach Punches, Bullet Seeds, and Earth Powers. Hydro Pump in the rain 2HKOs Starmie after SR, 2HKOs CM Reuniclus, 2HKOs 4/0/0 Celebi after Stealth Rock and 3 layers of Spikes. This guy is also my revenge killer, especially for Thundurus-t, Landorus-T, Venusaur, Weakened Starmie and Alakazam. Perish Song is just so fun to use. I don't know what else to say about him, he's just so much better than the other weather changers, Hydro Pump 2HKOs 252/252 Careful nature Tyranitar and Sp Defensive Ninetales after SR and Spikes in sand and sun respectively. Abomasnow is just bad.

My ever-so-trusty coffin! Spin blocking Steel Bugs, Elephants, Jellyfish for as long as I can remember. This spot used to be occupied by Gengar, then Jellicent but after I found this guy, I never looked back. Haze is there to stop Baton Pass chains and set up sweepers,with it Cofagrigus can beat CM Latias one on one using a combination of Haze, Pain Split, Will-O-Wisp, and Shadow Ball (all four of his moves...). Will-O-Wisp to cripple physical attackers and deal some extra damage, Shadow Ball so I'm not taunt bait and Pain Split so I can heal and deal damage at this same FREAKING time!! The EVs are so I can take Surfs and Hydro Pumps from Starmie and Tentacruel better. This guy is also my Breloom, Gliscor, and Guts pokemon counter because of his AMAZING ability Mummy. When said Pokemon hit Cofagrigus their abilities are replaced by Mummy, so their Flame/Toxic Orbs will slowly kill themselves...

Jirachi!! My favourite Pokemon of all time! This thing walls so many things, mainly Lati@s, Thundurus-T, Tornadus-T and a handful of other special attackers such as Gengar. Jirachi and Cofagrigus are the defensive backbone of this team. Jirachi acts as a defensive pivot and a wish passer. Using U-turn to maintain pressure and momentum and Wish to bring others back to tip top shape. Jirachi also has an offensive presence that some special walls just can't bring to the field. Thunder from a base 100 Special Attack and a 60% chance of paralysis is nothing to scoff at. With paralysis support Landorus can get a Substitute up much easier and can proceed to sweep. Iron head completes the paraflinch combo that's fun to use but annoying to play against. The EVs are standard I don't know what they do but if it's on the site it does something, I use Careful nature because I want Iron Head to hit Blissey, Chansey, Dragonite harder.

Don't be fooled by this little mushroom warrior's cute appearance, because once he starts dancing, shit's gonna die. Honestly, even without a Swords Dance, Mach Punch and Bullet Seed deals a lot of damage. After a Swords Dance, it's a guaranteed 2HKO on a 252/220 Bold Celebi and 252/228 Bold Latias after SR and one layer of spikes using Bullet Seed. Ok, now we know how hard this things hits. What's even more special about this guy is that he can force a shit ton of switches using Spore and just by being on the field. Breloom can also set up on a lot of things. Pretty much anything slower than him, he can come in on a resisted of non-damaging move and put something to sleep and get a free turn to get a Swords Dance up or just spam Mach Punches. Breloom also acts as my revenge killer, finishing up weakened Genies, Genesects, et cetera. As you can see Breloom has a lot of roles to play on this team and is vital to this team's success.

My little Mushroom Boxer, and the best boxer is Rocky, therefore he must be named Mushroom Rocky!

Meet Landorus. He hits like a truck. Period. No really, he does. Sheer Force + Life Orb coming off a 329 special attack. There are only several pokemon in the OU tier that aren't 2HKOed after switching into SR + 3 layers of Spikes (Deoxys-D, Bulky Gyarados, Sp Defensive Latias). However, in order for him to sweep, pokes that are faster must be removed first, or else he is easily revenge killed (if I don't get a sub up), that is handled by Jirachi spamming Thunder and spreading paralysis and spamming Mach Punch :D. I don't usually reveal Landorus until very late-game or I'm certain that he can finish the game off. Sometimes I don't need to reveal him at all! There isn't much I can say about the set apart from the obvious, Substitute is used over Psychic because Psychic only hits Gengar and Conkeldurr but I don't have much problems with them. I'm debating using Rock Polish over Substitute because after one RP, it pretty much outspeeds the entire metagame... But Substitute allows me not to be revenge killed by Scarf Ditto. If you want specific calcs of Landorus go to this amazing calculator called Honkalculator 3000 right here: http://honko.byethost8.com/coverage_calc.html and choose the Landorus (Special Attacker) and press "Go!"

He's a sexy beast. Hands down.

Conclusion:
This team by far my best BW2 OU team, it's fun and easy to use. The strategy is simple, get Spikes and Stealth Rock up, if a spinner makes its appearance go to Cofagrigus, if not, use Politoed, Jirachi, Breloom to smash things, and finish off with Breloom's Mach Punch, Politoed's Hydro Pump, or Landorus's Earth Power. I hope you enjoyed reading this RMT as much as I enjoyed writing it and hope you'll give me some feedback!Note: This team is weak to Toxic Spikes, and I can't seem to fit a spinner or Poison type on the team :(

Importable:

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Personally, I really like the team. While it has some weaknesses, as all teams do, I think the synergy is great. I'm unsure about Cofagrigus as a spinblocker, though, as opposing Starmie, especially under rain, could give it quite a bit of trouble. A specially defensive Jellicent may be better, or even a Night Shade/W-o-W/Rest/Sleep Talk Dusclops, but in any case, Starmie can be trouble for a lot of Pokemon.

The other issue with the team is its reliance on DeoD. While a great lead, hazard setter, etc, many teams are prepared for it and know how it works. The red card adds some troll value, though, so at least there's that.

Otherwise, looks pretty good. I'm sure you already know this, but keep Breloom in reserve to take out walls such as the pink blobs. I see stall teams being an issue for you, especially if Cofagrigus dies or gets Toxic'd, which is likely with repeated entrance/assault.

Hm, thanks for the rate. I will try out the Jellicent and the Dusclops sets but Cofagrigus is truly my counter for Toxic Heal Breloom and SubToxic Gliscor. Stall is generally easy to deal with since Breloom can put a pokemon to sleep and ruin their synergy, however if it's a good player using stall, it's hard to play against (well if its a good player using any type of team, its hard to play against).

Looking at your team i see that you are quite rain weak which is kind of ironic seeing as your team has its very own Politoed to supply rain for your opponent. With rain supplied a Sub+Dragon Dance Gyarados tears your team apart being able to avoid status moves from your team using Substitute while being able to boost its speed with Dragon Dance and threaten your team with its stab Waterfall that is further boosted by the rain your team supplies. Your best bet is to get Cofagrigus in to haze it and even then it doesnt want to eat two boosted Waterfalls. Breloom isnt safe either getting destoryed by Gyarados's Bounce. Even the offensive varaints of Gyarados are an issue at +1 they can outspeed your whole team and continue to pick up Moxie boosts although it is harder for offensive Gyara t set up if it does make it to +1 your team is going to be in trouble. Kingdra works very similarily to Gyarados being able to threaten your team once it starts using Dragon Dance however Kingdra has Swift Swim doubling its speed in your rain. Starmie is also quite a big rain threat when Cofagrigous goes in to spinblock it won't like taking a rain boosted Hydro Pump not to mention he can outspeed your whole team except Politoed who all three of his attacking moves are not very effective against Starmie. With Thunder(bolt)/Ice Beam/Hydro Pump Starmie can do some real damage to this team hitting three of your pokes super effectivly if Cogagrigous is out of the picture Starmie can also spin your valuable hazards. To help remedy your problem to rain offense i suggest Ferrothorn>Jirachi Ferrothorn still retains Jirachi's steel typing but also has a secondary grass typing helping him against rain teams alot. Much like Jirachis Wish support Ferrothorn has Leech Seed to keep your team healthy while he can also run Thunder to paralyze apoosing pokemon like Swift Swim Kingdra who gives you trouble. His Powerwhip also helps him against Starmie and he can take a bit of pressure of Deoxys-D setting up all the hazards as Ferrothorn can run Stealth Rock. However if you feel that Stealth Rock or Thunderwave arnt good options for Ferrothorn then you can run Gyro Ball if your not using Thunder Wave or Protect. If you are running Stealth Rock on Ferrothorn Deoxys will probally be wanting Recover instead. I reccomend you try all these options to find out the best one that quits your team.

Ferrothorn helps you alot agains Kingdra and Starmie and just water-type moves in generall because your Breloom and Politoed cant really take alot of rain moves due to them having no recovery and defensive ev spread. However Ferrothorn cant really take on Sub+Dragons Dance varaints of Gyarados as they eventaully take out Ferrothorn and Ferrothorn can't stop them from setting up. A good suggestion would be Hidden Power [Electric]>Focus Blast On Politoed. Hidden Power [Electric] murders Gyarados and also gives Politoed a move that is super effective on Starmie which is also nice. Focus Blast may be good but you need the super effective hit on Gyarados and Landorus and Breloom both have Fighting-Type moves so you can still beat Ferrothorn pretty easily.

good luck with the team i hope i helped!

Sets

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Thanks for the rate, SubDD Gyara isn't too common and i have yet to play against one with this team. Same with Kingdra. But better to be safe than freaking sorry XD. Thing is Jirachi is my Thundurus-t, Tornadus-t counters. While Ferrothorn does provide resistance against Kingdra, Starmie and Gyarados, leaves me open to Thundurus and Tornadus. Thanks again, I will definitely try out ferrothorn and hp electric